


starry: eyes

by sarangway



Series: starry [2]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Convenience Store, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Soulmate AU, i switched from socky to myungjin bc i love myungjin also frick, ofc cliche convenience store bc thats who i am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-25
Updated: 2016-11-25
Packaged: 2018-09-02 05:09:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8652196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarangway/pseuds/sarangway
Summary: convenience stores are wonderful places to meet up (accidentally, of course...even if it is every night for a week).part 2 of starry.





	

**Author's Note:**

> **note:** yr two is set in 2017

**convenience store: night 1**

Dongmin wasn’t big on convenience stores honestly. The food wasn’t very good quality, the music that played was overdone, and he always spent too much due to the cheap prices. Besides, he only ever went to them in the middle of the night anyway. But once again his claims to hate things were irrelevant as he found himself wandering the aisles of the store just a few blocks from his apartment. Normally college students stay in the school provided dorms, but Eunwoo would be here for a long while so he would rather have a place to stay.

                He didn’t quite remember why he was there, faint memories of an empty fridge jolting his thoughts and causing him to walk over to the ramen aisle. He would prefer some meat but he knew that having to pay for girls was an obligation that he never seemed to escape. He ate too so it wasn’t too bad.

                 Soft hands trailed to his pocket, ruffling around to try to pull out a shopping list. However, his fingers curled around another piece of weathered paper that seemed to be lost in his pants from the last time he washed them. Once he fished it out, he realized that the numbers scribbled on it were from that boy with the tattoo. Bin, was it? He felt a little guilty for never even entering the number into his phone…but he really wasn’t interested in forcing himself into an uncomfortable situation where he liked someone.

                Dongmin got the food that he wanted and walked around to the other side, only to find some boy crouching next to some drinks. He looked like he was rather focused, but when Dongmin took a step closer he noticed that he was reading some online manhwa on his phone. He couldn’t quite catch who it was, they were way too bundled up. Suddenly the boy stood up, letting out a happy cheer and hugging his phone to his chest.

                “Ahh, finally! It took them like a whole year to realize they liked each other…” The boy crouched again to choose the milk drink and stood back up, turning in the direction of Dongmin. His face was visible now, suddenly revealing that it was the boy he was rather worried about seeing, _Bin_.

                Bin’s cheeks lit up at the realization that Dongmin had seen that embarrassing display, his hand quickly tucking away the phone and waving awkwardly. It was a good thing it was cold outside, his nose and ears already tinted pink. “Hey, Dongmin-ssi! I haven’t seen you in a while.”

                “Hello, Bin-ssi. Yeah, I suppose we haven’t seen each other.” He acted as if this was something he hadn’t thought about at least twice a day.

                “Y’know, I never got a text from you. Did you lose my number?”

                Dongmin laughed nervously, his fingers loosening their grip on the paper and tucking it back into his pocket. “Of course not. I just didn’t have anything to say in particular-”

                “Well I have a lot to say! For one, why did you get your tattoo? Have I seen you around before? How old are you? What’s your major? Where are you from?” Bin rattled off his list of questions, clearly things that he had thought about before. Dongmin was clearly started so he trailed off, rocking on his heels. “Um, maybe start with how old you are.”

                “I’m 20. What about you?” Dongmin had a feeling that Bin was younger, his stare moving to his feet still moving up and down.

                “I’m 19! What’s your major?” Bin sure was moving fast towards someone that practically rejected him. Dongmin held up a hand to stop him, his energy already almost drained by how excited this boy was. Normally it wasn’t an issue to deal with but he had a particularly draining day today and he really didn’t have the vigor.

                “How about this, Bin-ssi.” Dongmin lowered his hand once Bin had focused on him. “You can ask me a question each time you meet me.”

                “Aish…but when will I meet you next? Can’t I just text you?” Bin whined a little, the idea being exciting but it didn’t seem like it was logical. After all, he didn’t even send him a text so Bin would have his number. His excitement was bubbling over and he was tired of waiting.

                “Er…the next time I come here I guess?” That was really an excuse considering he never considered that the idea of coming back here within the next week or month even. He was trying hard to not get even a little close to this mysterious boy, despite everything inside of him screaming to make sure to talk to him when he got home.

                “Tomorrow! Please, Dongmin-ssi!” Bin had a very strange aura to him, something that reminded him of both a cat and a dog. It was very charismatic and made it hard to say no.

                Dongmin shifted his food before sighing and giving him a small smile. “Alright. No promises.”

                A smile spread across the younger’s face, his hand awkwardly reaching and shaking Dongmin’s before turning and hurrying to purchase his drink and leave. Dongmin stood there, frustrated at the growing interest in the boy.

**convenience store: night 2**

                It was a little embarrassing when he left the apartment, letting Minhyuk stay late as he waited for Sanha to come back with dinner. Minhyuk quickly caught on that he was going to meet Dongmin and teased him right until he walked out. His cheeks were quickly covered with the scarf he wore once he left. Was he being too much right now? The store was rather close but he had cut their dance practice short due to messing up after being too focused.

                Once the sound of Twice’s TT, a rather popular song released last year, came into earshot, Bin picked up his step and smiled as he walked in, the bell over the door making a twinkling noise. His head ducked in the direction of the cashier, a glance making him notice that it was Jinwoo at the counter. Bin stopped, turning and walking up to him. “Jinwoo-hyung! How are you?”

                Jinwoo looked up from his magazine and smiled, his hand reaching over to mess up Bin’s hair playfully. The height wasn’t too off when he was in a tall chair, and he enjoyed taking advantage of that. Bin smiled a little wider, leaning back, “Yah! I just did my hair!”

                “Ooh, hot date?” Jinwoo adjusted his glasses and leaned back in his chair. As he did, the door to storage opened to reveal Myungjun, Jinwoo’s boyfriend of three years. He wrapped his arms around his neck from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder and waving at Bin sleepily.

                “Hi, Myungjun-hyung! And date? No, I’m just meeting someone here-”

                “Here? Who is it? Do we know them? Her? Him?” Myungjun’s parental instinct kicked in, his lips pursing as he waited for the biography of whoever he was meeting that day. Bin gave the run down, and his speech seemed to speed up as he described him. When he got to the tattoo, the duo stopped him. “You’re telling me he has a matching tattoo and you didn’t know him for how long?”

                Bin laughed a little, rubbing his nape and nodding. “Isn’t it strange? I’m gonna ask him about it today.”

                “Well good for you! You’re growing up before our eyes.”

                Myungjun nodded at his boyfriend’s comment, his hands moving to Jinwoo’s hair. “Is he our first child, Jinnie?”

                Bin rolled his eyes, moving to find what he’d eat that night while waiting for Dongmin to come. The night moved painfully slow as the wait for his mysterious stranger made him worry that he wouldn’t arrive at all. His munch on chips moved to another bag and eventually he found himself reading a magazine and then later playing phone games with Myungjun.

                If he didn’t have that overwhelming faith in Dongmin and underlying adoration from very few meetings, Bin would have left a long while ago. The closing was approaching though, maybe an hour left or a little more. He noticed the few glances from Jinwoo and Myungjun, occasionally at each other. Even when it definitely hit an hour left, his hope slowly slipping. That was, until he decided to glance up for a moment and catch a glance of Dongmin walking towards the store hurriedly. “Oh.”

                His breath was taken away at the sight of him, his hair slightly tousled from the rush there, and his coat suiting the color of his eyes. The bell twinkled like a star, the noise strangely suiting him. “Bin-ssi, I apologize.”

                Bin stood up quickly, wiping the few crumbs from his face and grinning. “I was getting worried you broke our promise. I really wanted to ask you something today.”

                Was that some sort of code for see you today? Dongmin guessed that it was and gave a relieved look. “Of course I wouldn’t. I was a little bogged down today, I had a few tests and a date-”

                “A date? What’s that about?” Before Dongmin answered, Bin shook his head quickly. Half of it was inspired by his intense lack of wanting to know anything about Dongmin’s love life. “Wait, wait, I take it back. That’s not my question for today.”

                The older had to admit it was a little endearing how important these questions were to him and he nodded. He would have let him ask that too, but he didn’t really want to go into the specifics of his date either. His romantic life was rather empty even if it appeared lively. Dongmin made his way over to the coffee machine, filling up a cup and bowing slightly at the cashier before paying for it. The cashier leaned in a bit after he took the money, as if he was examining him. “You’re Dongmin?”

                Taken back, he nodded. “Er, yes. Why exactly?”

                The cashier, Jinwoo by a quick glance at his name tag, took a look at Bin and back at Dongmin, “Bin-ah, good luck!”

                Bin’s face lit up in embarrassment, hiding his burning cheeks in his hands awkwardly. Dongmin was started at the weird dynamic and let out an awkward laugh. “Maybe we could talk outside? It is getting late and I don’t have much time.” Before waiting for an answer, Dongmin made his way out and under the heat lamp to wait for Bin. A glare was shot to Jinwoo before he caught up.

                “Sorry about that, Jinwoo-hyung can really step out of line sometimes.” The older assured he didn’t mind and Bin was sure that wasn’t true but he still accepted it. “Alright, so, I wanted to ask about the tattoo today.”

                “Ah, yes. I’m sure you’re as confused as I am.” Dongmin chuckled a bit, rolling up his sleeve to reveal the tattoo. “I guess it’s just kind of a childhood thing. When I was younger I was very interested in star-gazing. I was also kinda overweight and didn’t have many friends so once I grew up the freckles annoyingly reminded me of that. I wanted to make it something beautiful and I had noticed that it looked like the Libra constellation so I decided to make it something with a good meaning instead.”

                There was just another thing to add to the Dongmin Is Very Interesting List. It was a strange notion to think of, this very handsome and intelligent boy not having many friends. Sure, Bin hadn’t known about him before, but apparently he was a very popular person at their school. Bin’s thoughts were broken as Dongmin said something he didn’t catch. “Huh?”

                “I asked what about you?”

                “Me? Oh,” Bin was a little embarrassed at his meaning not being nearly as poetic as Dongmin’s. “I guess you can say I’m going through a rebellious stage right now. Minhyuk and Sanha decided to buy it for my birthday. It has a pretty similar meaning as yours though, I really love space as well and star-gazing, so I decided it would look cool.”

                Dongmin laughed a little, sipping on his coffee and commenting, “Rebellious phase? I think you act more like a puppy than a delinquent.”

                A grin spread across the younger’s face, his hands squeezing into fists and relaxing in his pockets. Was that an indirect compliment? Puppies were cute, right?

                “Once again, I really am sorry for being late. I have some more work to do before going to bed so I unfortunately have to get going.”

                “Oh, no! It’s alright! I would have waited longer if I needed too.” Dongmin was slightly surprised at that, but a soft smile rested on his features, his eyes crinkling.

                “Thank you, Bin-ssi. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

                “Right!” Bin waved as the bundled boy walked down the street, hands curled around the hot coffee. Even if he said he would wait longer, it would be a hard twenty-four hours to wait for.

**convenience store: night 3**

                The day had gone by incredibly slowly, the time ticking by as if seconds had become minutes and minutes now felt like hours. Why that was, Dongmin really couldn’t explain. But he had a hunch that it was connected to a certain boy who didn’t notice he still had chip crumbs on his cheek a few nights ago.

                As much as he tried to fight it, he was becoming increasingly more interested in this happy student, his smile so contagious that even thinking about it made Dongmin see the sunshine a little brighter that day. Bin was very strange to him, entirely unlike anyone he had ever met. They had met up for a week now, every night feeling like some sort of interview. Slowly Dongmin let his guard down and Bin would ask two questions, three questions, sometimes even _five_ before he said that it was time to go home. The time flew by entirely too fast and Dongmin was sure that the lack of sleep was showing.

                Finally, on hour twenty-three, Dongmin found himself hurrying down the quiet street to that convenience store that he had grown to secretly love. And his reason for loving it stood in front of the door, bouncing on his heels and looking down the street. They made eye contact and Bin smiled, waving until Dongmin was close enough to talk comfortably. “Hi! How was your day?”   

                “A question right off the bat? You’re becoming more sneaky each passing day, Bin-ssi.”

                Bin smiled and Dongmin felt himself relax into one as well. “Here, I got you your coffee and a chocolate bread.” Bin’s gloved hands held out his treat and Dongmin took it gratefully.

                “It’s almost like you know I didn’t eat dinner yet.” Dongmin took a sip and let out a content sigh as he sat down at their usual table under the heat lamp. “Sit down, let’s talk.”

                “Alright. Ask me something first today, let’s switch it up.”

                “Adventurous! I like it.”

                Bin smiled as Dongmin began to ask how his day was, if he had any tests coming, if he had eaten, and a few other small-talk fueled inquires. The time flowed easily, little spurts of laughter passing the night. Eventually there was only enough time for one more question and Bin decided to take it for himself.

                “Okay, for the last one, it’s probably going to be hard.” Bin crinkled the bread wrapper and tossed it in the trash. “It’s also making me a little nervous.”

                That piqued Dongmin’s curiosity and he leaned in while resting his chin in his hands. “Really? Fire away.”

                “Do you want to be friends?” Bin’s voice was suddenly very small and it was a good thing that it was so late and the music was playing low. “I mean, we talk and we meet here and I don’t know if that really means we’re friends or anything, and I hope this isn’t really weird because if it is you can totally say no. As long as you don’t stop meeting here because I really look forward to it.”

                “Bin-ssi,” Dongmin’s voice had an underlying sternness that made Bin shrink in his seat, his leg bouncing with anxiety. “Are you telling me you didn’t consider us friends already?”

                He did think that he might have gotten some water in his ear when he showered today, but now Bin was certain of it. “What?”

                “Really, you told me it was a difficult question. I got excited!” Dongmin stood up with a playful huff.

                “Wait, Dongmin-ssi-”

                “I will get going. See you tomorrow, my friend Bin-ah.”

                Bin had a feeling that even if he wasn’t standing under the heat lamp, the warm feeling in his heart would keep him cozier than the coat and sweater he was wearing.

**Author's Note:**

> what is this? a giant cliche?? u bet ur ding dongin butt it is  
> check me out on tumblr @sarangway and @snowdawon


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